SPACE March 2025 (No. 688)
I AM AN ARCHITECT
‘I am an Architect’ was planned to meet young architects who seek their own architecture in a variety of materials and methods. What do they like, explore, and worry about? SPACE is going to discover individual characteristics of them rather than group them into a single category. The relay interview continues when the architect who participated in the conversation calls another architect in the next turn.
interview Chae Ahram, Yoon Zoosun Team UDTT × Kim Bokyoung
Studio UDTT + UDTT Lab. = Team UDTT
Kim Bokyoung (Kim): Thank you for the warm welcome! To start, please enlighten us as to how Studio UDTT began.
Chae Ahram (Chae): To put it briefly, it all began when I moved to Daejeon, with no connections, on the 1st of February, 2023, and founded Studio UDTT. Prior to that I had been working alongside Dr. Yoon Zoosun at the Architecture & Urban Research Institute (auri) for approximately 2.5 years on projects aimed at creating vibrant neighbourhoods and revitalising local areas.
Yoon Zoosun (Yoon): I first met Chae as part of the Gunsan Community Hall regeneration project, for which I had been put in charge. At the time, the three of us who were working on the project together planned to start a business and continue our collaboration after the completion of this project. However, one team member went on to enrol in a Ph.D. programme, and I was accepted for a faculty position – the first I had ever applied for – so Chae ended up starting the company alone. We still collaborate under the name, Team UDTT. I co-plan projects through the UDTT Lab., a research lab at Chungnam National University, as an advisor. Chae also plays an active role in field workshops for my classes.
Kim: I am also curious about what led each of you to take an interest in regional revitalisation projects.
Chae: I followed a pretty conventional path in studying the fine arts. But I was always interested in places. My curiosity focused on topics such as how people shape spaces and build narratives within them, and the public nature of old and historic places. Ov...
